


A Troubled Child Named Tony (And The Man Who Made Him That Way)

by AlissaShawWrites



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abusive Parents, Child Abuse, Good Peter, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Protective Peter, Protective Steve, Sad, The Sinister Six - Freeform, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-06-20 17:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15538983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlissaShawWrites/pseuds/AlissaShawWrites
Summary: Based on the Tumblr prompt:"de-aged tony au where the avengers expect 4-year-old tony to be loud, rambunctious, messy, and curiousimagine their surprise when he’s an anxious, sensitive child who flinches at sudden movement and cries whenever he thinks he’s in trouble bc he thinks he’s going to get hit." -natashalieromanov (link in the fic)





	1. The Child Within

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [It's a Tumblr post.](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/402705) by natashalieromanov. 
  * Inspired by [It's a Tumblr post.](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/402708) by natashalieromanov. 



The team was not entirely sure how it happened. One second; they were fighting and everything was normal, and the next second; Tony was de-ageing at an accelerated rate. The team stopped but could do nothing to stop the magic other than watch in horror as Tony screamed out in agony. His firm muscular body almost appeared to be collapsing in on itself. His bones were shrinking dragging the firm flesh and muscle tissue with it before it had a chance to shrink as well. Right before their eyes, Tony relieved his youth, one agonizing second at a time before it finally stopped at the age of around four; possibly five. Thankfully for them; yet unfortunately for Tony, the pain was intense enough that it put the now small child out. He slumped down onto the bed of upturned earth.

“Spiderman!” Steve yelled. “Get him out of here! We’ll get the time stone back!”

Peter did as he was told; swinging over to the whimpering child. He scooped him up tightly with one hand and carried him somewhere safe. They were in Queens when the attack happened; Tony and Dr. Strange had been escorting Peter home when something had struck the car. Not long after, a fight had begun and the Avengers were called.

He swung in through the closed window, shattering the glass; his arms covering the now five-year-old Tony so tightly he almost couldn't breathe. "Sorry May," he yelled through her terrified screams. She calmed down once she realized who he was. "May I can't explain now! But you need to help!"

He unfurled his arms to reveal the limp body of the child wrapped only in the oversized AC/DC shirt he had been wearing before the incident. She picked him up carefully. “Peter? What-”

He sprung to his feet. “I can’t explain now! He’s hurt, May. He’s hurting bad. Please just keep him safe.”

“I will, but Peter you can’t go back out there if it's that dangerous.”

“It’s okay. The Avengers and I will fix it.” He climbed out of the gap he left in the glass before muttering, “sorry about the window.” And like that, he was gone again. 

There wasn’t much left on the battlefield when he returned. Mostly just a mess of broken items and shattered glass. The heroes were there as well looking bewildered and strained. Each had sustained pretty heavy hits. Clint was hunched over in a ditch in a fit of aggressive vomiting. Natasha was tenderly consoling him and massaging his back; soothing him with soft words of false promises. Steve and Stephen were discussing the outcome of the battle while Bruce, Bucky, and Thor helped frightened civilians. 

“What happened?” Peter asked when he was close enough to the super soldier and the sorcerer supreme. “What’s wrong with Hawkeye?”

Steve looked over to where Clint was gagging. “Took a real hard hit to the stomach. Couldn’t keep it in.”

“Poor Clint.” 

“He’ll be alright once we get him to the medbay. Hows Tony?”

“I left him with aunt May but was still passed out. No signs of him turning back yet.”

Dr. Strange stepped forward. “Without the stone, he’ll be stuck that way. We need to get it back as soon as possible.”

“I take it he got away then? What even was he? He had like metal tentacles. Do, uh, do you think he’s from,” Peter paused to look at Bucky and moved closer to Cap. “You know, HYDRA,” he whispered. 

"Possibly," Steve sullenly nodded. "They seemed very high-tech. But for now, let's get Clint to the medbay."

He nodded his agreement while the doctor opened a portal that lead directly to the medbay. Between Peter and Natasha, Clint was easily carried back to the tower still heaving as if there was anything left in his stomach. While the others were patched up, the doctor, Steve, and Peter went back to Peters apartment. 

As they climbed the stairs of the building they discussed Tony. What to do with him, whether he’d remember being an adult or if he had reverted back to an actual toddler; and if he had, how they would deal with him. Clint had parenting experience, sure; but was he prepared for the rambunctious disaster that Tony would probably be? He was a big enough handful as an adult with a fully developed sense of self; what would the hyper mind of a genius child be like to work with? Needless to say, they feared the worst

However; when they walked in May was busy cleaning the glass off the floor while Tony, still a child, sat quietly on the floor in a pair of Captain America footed pyjamas, drawing something in one of Peters school notebooks. 

May noticed the heroes standing in the entryway. “Peter!” She ran to hug him. Unnoticed by anyone was the way young Tony flinched at her suddenly raised voice. “Are you alright?” 

"Of course I am. Actually, the battle was over by the time I got back so it's just clean up now. But, uh, how is he?"

May smiled pleasantly at him. "What a sweetheart. He was in a bit of pain like you said but there's no boo-boo too big that a mother's kiss can't get rid of. I found some of your old childhood stuff in the boxes in my closet like the Captain America pj's-"

Peter groaned loudly; his cheeks going red, "May that's so embarrassing. Cap is literally here right now."

Steve chuckled. “It’s alright, Peter,” he smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s an honour to have you as a fan.” 

May giggled as well, “see Peter? It's not embarrassing.” She ignored his still deeply red flushed cheeks. “I just gave him some paper and pencils. He’s been fairly quiet.” 

Steve and Stephen exchanged confused side glances before the doctor stepped forward. "Well thank you, Mrs. Parker." He turned towards the child that had returned to his artwork. "Come along Tony, we must get going now."

Tony looked up at him curiously. His eyes shone brighter than they had ever seen before. There was a brilliant light behind them that no one had seen in Tony for many, many years. “Okay,” he said in a semi-bland tone that did not match the hopeful eyes; but instead the blank expression on his face. “Are-are you going to take me home?” 

“Yes.” 

“Do we have to? Mrs. Parker is really nice.” 

Steve crouched down in front of Tony so their height difference wasn’t as severe. “I know she is,” he said sweetly. “But it’s time to go, okay?” 

Tony got to his feet quicker than expected, placing the pad of paper and pencils down on the coffee table. "Bye-bye Mrs. Parker. Thanks for the PJs."

May crouched down as well, stretching out her arms towards him. “Any time sweetheart. Can I get a hug before you go?” He finally smiled back, falling into her open arms. “Bye-bye kiddo. Don’t be a stranger.” 

“I won't!” 

Stephen opened a portal for them in the living room that connected to the living room of Stark Tower. Tony was astonished by the magic of course; jumping between the two rooms excitedly. “How did you do that?”

“Magic.”

Tony’s brows furrowed. “Magic isn’t real.” It wasn’t a strong statement. He wasn’t telling Dr. Strange; but rather like he was telling himself. 

“Of course it is, I just used it,” Stephen corrected shortly.

The portal closed leaving Peter and May alone in their living room. May seemed unsettled by his last statement. “What child doesn’t believe in magic?”

“Tony Stark, I guess,” Peter shrugged. 

“Wait, what was that?”

“I have a lot to tell you, May. It’s been a wild day.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah ha! I'm finally back!

The second the portal closed behind him, the young child jolted curiously back towards where it had been. The men didn't stop him; instead, turning to watch what he would do. He retraced their steps, touched the wall, searched the floor. Whatever he was doing, he didn't seem to reach the conclusion he was looking for. 

“Where did it go?” he asked with wide eyes.

“I told you it was magic,” Dr. Strange smirked. 

“Dad told me there's no such thing as magic.” 

“Not everyone believes in magic, Stark.” Tony didn’t seem to like being called ‘Stark.’ He started to pout, crossing his arms and scrunching up his nose in disgust. “Anthony,” Dr. Strange corrected himself but Tony continued to pout. 

“I’m Tony. Anthony is a stupid name.” 

“Fine, Tony then.” 

He seemed satisfied, dropping his arms playfully back to his sides. “Can you show me more magic? I’ve never seen magic before! Can you change shape? Or pull a rabbit out of a hat? We had something like that at my birthday party once. He did cool tricks but my dad thought it was stupid. Mom and dad got in a fight about it that night.”

Steve looked confused. “Howard? That doesn’t sound like the Howard I knew.” 

“You know my dad?” 

“Of course, I’m Steve Rogers. Captain America. I worked with him.” 

“C-Captain America?!” Tony lit up. “Like the Captain America?! The one that fights nazis?!” 

Steve smiled at him, “the one and only.” 

Tony was practically bouncing out of excitement. "Shouldn't you be out fighting Nazis? Why are you here? Did my dad send you to take care of me?" His eyes widened amazingly wide, almost cartoonishly wide. "DO YOU NEED MY HELP?!"

Steve laughed a little, just a bit more than a chuckle. “No I’m not out fighting Nazi’s anymore; well actually it does happen now and again, but yes I am here to take care of you. Well, I have something I need to do so we’re going to see if my friend Clint could take care of you for a couple of hours.”

“Oh,” he seemed slightly distraught. “Yeah, okay. Can Mr. Wizard stay?” Tony dipped his head and looked towards the floor. “I-I’m sorry. That was rude. I didn’t ask your name.” 

Dr. Strange was used to dealing with a lot of things in his life but a small and apologetic Tony Stark was certainly not one of them. He knelt before the small child in time to notice tears starting to form in his eyes. Of course, he was taken aback by this having never seen Tony shed a tear for anything. "It-It's alright. I'm not mad."

“Y-You’re not?” 

“Not at all. I’m Doctor Stephen Strange. Why don’t you just call me Stephen.” 

“You’re a doctor? Doctor Strange sounds super cool.”

“Call me whatever you like then.” 

"Thank you, Mr. Doctor. Sir."

Dr. Strange leaned back to look at Steve. “Am I allowed to do a DNA test on him and Peter now? Are you really sure they aren't related?” 

Steve subconsciously crossed his arms and grew a confused expression. “Yeah, I’m not so sure anymore.” 

“Who’s Peter?” 

“He’s, um, that kid that saved you. The one in the red suit.” 

“He is so cool! Mrs. Parker showed me pictures of him doing superhero things! So cool! And I look like him!” 

"Now that you mention it," Steve muttered quietly mildly caught off guard. "You do. Very similar face shape. The curls too. You know what, I do want a blood test when this is all over. I'm starting to believe the tabloids."

Tony was clearly lost in the conversation and was not pleased. He straightened his posture before firmly saying, “wait if you were going to leave me with someone, why didn’t you just leave me with Mrs. Parker? It doesn’t matter anyway, I can stay by myself!” 

Steve bit his lip, “actually yeah, we should have. But no you’re here now and we aren't leaving you alone.” 

“Why not?” he defiantly crossed his arms. “I’m always alone. If I need anything I’ll ask Jarvis. What does it matter?” 

“Well, uh, no you can’t. He’s not here. It’s a long story.” 

“I’m still fine!” 

“No, Tony.” 

“Yes!” 

“No!” 

Tony flinched rather violently, hiding his face in his hands. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean too. I-I got excited." Steve dropped to his knees in front of Tony and raised his hand to place it on his tiny shoulders but the loving gesture was unwelcomed. Before he could do anything else, Tony was curling in on himself in a fit of tears and pathetic whimpering apologies. "I'm sorry Mr. Rogers. I-I didn't mean to make you mad."

“I’m not mad Tony. It’s alright, I’m sorry I yelled at you.” 

Tony peaked his eyes over his hands. “Y-You’re not?” he mumbled fearfully. 

“Of course not, Tony. Of course not. Come here kiddo,” he said raising his arms for a hug. Tony dove into to awaiting arms as if his life depended on it and continued to sob violently. Steve rubbed his back soothingly until the crying calmed down which took a lot longer than Steve hoped but he was rewarded for his patience when Tony finally stopped crying; yawning instead. 

"You getting tired?" He nodded. "Yeah, it's been a long day for you. Let's get you to bed." Tony was asleep in his arms before they made it to his bedroom.

After carefully tucking him in, Steve went back to the living room where Doctor Strange was still waiting. "Well that was an interesting turn of events," he said nonchalantly as Steve entered the room.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “I’m really worried. What do you think could have caused him to act like that?”

“Who knows,” the doctor shrugged. “The spell could have made him jumpier or scared. Or maybe he was just an emotional child.”

“I hope that’s all it is. Let’s go get Clint. We’re wasting time not looking for the time stone.” 

“Agreed. And maybe get Peter back over here.”

“Good plan.”


	3. Chapter 3

The Avengers had gotten nowhere in the way of finding the man with mechanical tentacles or any sign of the time stone. Stephen was worried. He had seen hundreds of timelines but if they were messing with the past, who knew what they already changed. So he knew how vital getting the stone back. Steve knew the danger just as well but when the clock read 1:00 a.m. he suggested they return to the tower. They were no closer to an answer anyway and they needed rest as well as make sure Clint hadn’t murdered Tony while they were out. 

Using a portal, the group was back at the tower in seconds; and what they found there was something no one expected. Sleeping on the living room couch was Clint himself while Tony, so small and quiet, rested peacefully on Clint's chest. The room was a mess of papers, pillows, spare parts, and pens galore; as if a tornado had gone through it. Yet the two figures were lying peacefully as if nothing had happened. 

“You think we should leave them?” Steve whispered to the others. 

Bruce had his phone out, taking pictures before he nodded. “Yeah, they both probably need sleep. Plus you have to admit, that's pretty damn cute.” 

Natasha stepped forward. “I’m just glad Clint has kids and knows how to deal with one. I’m sure we couldn't deal with Tony on our own. I can’t even deal with him as an adult sometimes.” 

“Actually,” Steve chuckled. “He’s a pretty normal and quiet kid. When he was at Peters place he didn’t say or do much. He was a little more excited when he found out who I am but no more than a regular child.”

“You? He got excited about you?” 

“Yeah. I guess he was a big fan of me when he was a kid. His dad was the man behind the serum so I bet they talked about it a lot.” 

“What the hell did you do to make him hate you so much then?” 

“I don’t know. He hated me right from the day he met me to my knowledge. He wasn’t exactly the most welcoming man I’ve ever met.” 

Clint began stirring at the raising voices. Tony thankfully stayed asleep and securely tucked under Clint's arm even as he moved to look around him. “Oh shit, you’re back. Any luck?” he yawned. 

“None I’m afraid,” Dr. Strange sighed. “What happened in here?”

“He had a nightmare, we built a pillow fort and he tried to make a robot but I wasn’t going to let him because of; well it’s just a bad idea. He threw a pillow at me and I don’t care how old he is, if Tony hits me with a pillow, I’m retaliating.”

“So you hit him with a pillow?”

“Yes.”

“You hit Tony Stark with a pillow?”

“Not hard. I just threw it back at him and then we had a pillow fight. Kids got skill. He’s fast, sneaky, and unheard if he wants to be. I think he could have been a damn good spy. I should train him.”

“No, we’re not doing that.” He scooped Tony carefully into his arms. For a moment he feared he had woken him as he shifted in his hold. Tony, however; must have found Dr. Strange comfortable because he cuddled closer into his chest. The Cloak of Levitation wrapped around him as well in a cocoon of soft blanket-like material. Tony smiled pleasantly in his sleep. 

“Alright Tony,” Steve smiled. “It’s time for you to actually have a decent rest. You want me to take him?”

“No,” Dr. strange smiled. “I’ve got him.” He sauntered out of the room without another word. 

The other Avengers dispursed towards their own rooms in time. Steve wanted so badly to put the day behind him but there was something that put his wish on hold. Before he could shut the door to his bedroom, he felt a firm hand grasp his arm. It was Peter. “Where did you come from? I thought you were at home with your aunt.”

“I-I was,” his voice was hushed and panicked. He was out of breath and paler than a ghost; the red of the suit only accentuating the fear in his eyes. “My spidey-senses. Something,” he began shaking. “It’s something, I just don’t know what, but it’s wrong. Something is wrong.”

“Calm down, Peter. Don’t you get that a lot? It might just be the stress of what happened today”

Peter softly nodded, “maybe. I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something we’re missing.”

“I’m worried too. It’s normal.”

“Tomorrow I’m not going to school. I’ll stay here with you guys and Tony. I can’t sit in class and worry about this all day.” 

Steve sighed, “you know I don’t like you skipping school, but fine. This one time.”

“Thank’s Steve.”

“Get some sleep. We all need it.”

“Agreed.”

They went their separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S sorry I've been away! This story has been giving me a hassle and life sucks sometimes.


	4. Chapter 4

No one in Stark Tower awoke before noon with the exception of Tony himself. Slowly he tumbled out of bed, still dressed in Peters Captain America pj’s. Taking notice that none of the adults seem to be awake, Tony decided that it was his time to explore. He walked through the expansive halls of Stark Tower, stopping every now and again to look at something or other. 

He climbed the stairs in silence, ran through the kitchen with no one there, played with miscellaneous items that he found throughout the building, but nothing caught his attention quite like the glistening door of the lab. It was something he remembered though he wasn’t sure why. As if he had seen it in a dream. Something not real or physical, but something he had thought of himself. 

There was a number pad on the wall beside the door begging for a passcode. He had a few ideas as to what it might be but he had to face a different obstacle before that one. He was too short to reach it. 

Tony jumped for it but the tips of his fingers barely managed to skim the outer metal panelling. He had to find something else. He carried on down the hallway looking for any sort of bench or chair he could use as a boost but there were none in sight and all of the rooms were closed. Until he knew what was behind them, he didn't want to start opening doors and running the risk of the others ruining his fun, or worse, running into Howard. 

It wasn't long until he found a waiting room of some kind. There were two soft voices emanating from one side. He recognized Captain America instantly and after a moment remembered that the other one was that Spiderman he had met the day before. They were whispering and one sounded pained. 

“I don’t know, Cap. It’s been so bad I couldn’t sleep.” 

“It could just be nerves. We’re all worried about Tony.” 

“I know we are. I really am, but it’s not that. I know the difference. I’ve had these powers for years alright?” 

Hearing his name caught him off guard. Instead of leaving like he wanted to, his whole body froze and arched around the doorway to hear better. Peter was lying on one of the couches with his arm over his eyes to block the fluorescent light from the ceiling. Cap sat across from him with a bowl of water on one knee and a wet towel draped over his hand. 

“Lift your arm,” he instructed, exchanging the cloth over Peters' eyes for a new one. “Do you know what's causing it?” 

“No,” Peter grumbled. “I can usually tell which direction it's coming from but not what it is. Like if I’m fighting some things and one pulls out a gun I can feel that. Couldn't tell you its a gun but I could tell you there's a new danger added to the fun. 

“But this,” Peter continued. “Its something else entirely. I feel like it's from everywhere and everything is wrong. No matter what I do just seems like I’m in danger. Like we’re in danger, or worse; Tony is. I can’t describe it.”

“I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you or Tony. I vow it.” 

Peter nodded meekly, “thanks, Cap. You think we should check on him? He’s been sleeping for a long time.”

“I’ll go,” he assured before Peter could get up. “You stay here. You need to get rid of the headache.” He left before Peter could object; narrowly missing the sight of tony hiding behind the door. 

When Cap was far enough away, Tony cautiously approached the cringing teen. Tony found it funny that somewhere in his mind he seemed very familiar to him yet not at all. Like a family member, you haven’t seen in years but think about every now and again. He could trust him. 

“Excuse me,” he whispered, lightly nudging the teen's arm. 

Peter didn't seem surprised by any means as he lifted the limp arm from his eyes. “Hey, Mr- I mean; Tony. How long have you been there?” 

“Couple minutes. I didn't mean to snoop,” he added, avoiding eye contact with Peter. “ I just wanted to know what was wrong. Are you hurt because of me?” 

Peter sighed through his ear to ear grin. “No. I just get really bad headaches when bad guys are doing stuff. You don’t have to worry about it.” 

“That’s not good.” 

“I’m used to it.” 

“That's not good.”

“What's not?” 

“When someone's so used to a bad thing happening to them that it becomes normal. Mommy says its bad.” 

Peter hadn't been around many kids in his life. In fact, he usually was the youngest in most groups so he wasn't always sure what was normal behaviour but he knew if it weren't for the already persistent thumping against the back of his head, it would have started right then and there. “Are-are you used to something bad happening Tony?” 

Tony didn't answer. 

Peter slowly slid off the couch to sit on the floor in front of the child. “Tony it’s okay to tell me. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but you don’t have to be afraid of me. You can tell me anything.”

“Dad- dad’s mean to me a lot. I don’t think he likes me.”

“Oh no, Tony your dad loves you, I’m sure.”

“No, he doesn’t! He hates me! He never wanted me,” he shouted through a steady stream of tears. “I’ve heard him and mommy yell about it all the time.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Come here,” Peter said softly while opening his arms. Tony wasted no time and immediately threw himself into the embrace as if his life depended on it. “It’s alright Tony. We love you here. All of us, and we all desperately want to keep you safe and make sure you're happy. Why don't you and I spend some time together today, huh? Do whatever you want to do. No loud adults or your dad. Just you and me and the city.” 

“But,” Tony sniffled. “The city is loud. All the time.” 

“Not my favourite parts of the city. You’re not afraid of heights are you?” 

“No. Not really. I always wanted to build a jetpack or something so I could fly up to the top of the tallest building in New York.” 

Peter laughed, “you will someday kiddo. I promise and it'll be better than you ever expected. But we are already almost at the top of the tallest building right now. Let's go, I’ll take you up.” 

Tony's eyes lit up in an excitement Peter had never seen before. “YES YES YES PLEASE!” 

“Alright let's go. But it's really high so i'm going to web you to my back like a backpack.” 

“That's sick!” 

“Heck yeah.” 

Peter did just as he said he would, wrapping Tony lightly in enough webbing to hold him but not as tight as he would a criminal so he had room to move and his hands free. He then wrapped the webs around his shoulders as if it here a normal backpack before running out of the room and down the hall. They ran past a very flustered looking Steve; who relaxed for a moment when he saw them together before the panic rose again at what he saw before him. 

“See ya, Cap,” Peter shouted. 

“LOOK,” Tony yelled as they passed. “I’M A BACKPACK!” 

Peter and Tony were out the window a second later leaving Steve flustered and panicked behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter climbed to the peak of the tower with Tony wide-eyed and stunned attached to his back. Peter was a little unbalanced between the harsh wind and added weight of a child so it took him a little longer than usual to get his footing, but in the end, it was worth it just to hear Tony's screams of excitement.

“Where are we?” 

“New York.” 

“No way! New York doesn't look like this!” 

“It does now. Actually, Tony, that brings up something I've been meaning to ask.” He carefully sat down on the ledge; taking as much time as possible to postpone This is futurey and weird!”

Peter sighed; still crouched on the highest point of the tower, eyes scanning the horizon like a child looking for the answer to a test somewhere in the classroom. “Tony,” he mumbled; weary and burned out before even beginning his thought. “Tony do you not remember anything?”

“I-I remember lots,” came Tony’s dismayed reply. “I’m not stupid.”

“No; Tony I know you’re not stupid. You’re not. You’re a genius. One of the smartest people I know.” He wished he could be facing Tony now but what could he do? The kid was tethered to him stronger than any safety harness would ever be. Not to mention the fact that they were several stories off the ground and the only thing keeping them safe was Peter's sticky feet. There wasn’t exactly much he could do in the way of making this more personal. 

“It’s just,” he continued nonetheless. “There was an accident. Something happened and you don’t seem to have any memory of it. I’m just worried about you.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you. I used to be able to ask you advice on this kind of stuff and I’m not sure I know what you’d say about this.”

Tony stayed silent for a few moments. Peter waited, knowing that if anything bad had happened, his spidey senses would be alerting him to it. So instead he waited and waited for Tony to respond. Maybe he just wasn’t listening. That wasn’t entirely too unlikely for a child. Peter had, had countless face to face conversations with adult Tony where he did not hear one word that left his mentors lips. He wasn’t trying to be rude; his brain just didn’t comprehend the sounds he was hearing. Everyone has done it. It wasn’t impossible for Tony to do the same.

But then; after the longest few minutes of his life, Tony spoke up. His voice was soft and utterly dumbfounded. “You-you asked for my advice?”

“All the time,” Peter answered honestly. 

Tony shifted excitedly in the web, “that’s so cool! What do I help you with? Your suit right! It’s so cool! The web stuff is so cool!”

“That’s exactly what you help me with. We spend hours in the lab trying to fix all the damage I do to it when I’m out patrolling, and we eat pizza, and drink way too much coffee.”

“Eww! Coffee’s gross.”

That sentence alone brought a tear to Peter’s eyes. “Oh my god, he’s so small and precious,” he said more to himself than to Tony. 

“I’m not small!” 

“No-no, of course, you’re not, Tony. Sorry. I just,” he sighed. “I just hope that we can go back to working like that soon.” 

“We will. I know it. You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met. Dad’s not even close!” Tony laughed slightly more upbeat than Peter expected.

Before he could laugh back and continue their pleasantries, he suddenly got an uneasy feeling. His head began pounding and telling him to get to safe ground as soon as possible. “Tony, hold on,” he said firmly as if Tony had any choice in the matter. 

Peter took the wrinkled mask out of his pocket and pulled it on. He jumped off the highest point; letting out a web to gently guide their swing so Tony wouldn’t be jostled. Once he was around the corner of the building he saw the path of destruction getting closer and closer to the tower. Something huge and silver was barrelling down the streets; blatantly disregarding any buildings or pedestrians in its way; leaving the dead to be buried in rubble. It was already worse than Peter ever imagined. 

Clint's voice echoed through the earpiece in Peters mask, “I’m sorry everyone else is seeing this too right? A giant rhino-man attacking New York?”

“Can confirm visuals,” Steve huffed; most likely already on his way down to the battle’s frontline. “Spiderman are you out there? Is Tony safe?”

Peter was just getting used to the steadfast and straightforward way Steve spoke when directing orders in a combat situation. Regardless; he responded as similarly as he could muster, “Tony is secure for now. I’m in the air and judging by the way that dude, I mean, Rhino is looking at me, I’d say he’s looking to pick a fight with me. I’m dropping Tony off and joining the fight.”

“Negative, Spiderman. You must keep Tony safe.”

“Too late,” Peter called, already swinging in through one of the higher windows of the building. He was standing in one of the well-used labs; the one where a majority of his spider-gadgets and best memories were made. “Okay, Tony; this is where you get off and stay put.” 

He flipped over a lopsided stack of miscellaneous papers and long forgotten parts of one thing or another to reveal a small vial of oddly green coloured liquid. He poured most of it on the straps of the makeshift web backpack and they began to loosen. 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s supposed to be web solvent but it’s more like a web expander right now. We messed up the solution somewhere.” Carefully he pulled Tony off his back and rested him in one of the chairs, still wrapped in webbing with elongated straps. “Stay here. It’s safe here. The webs will loosen soon and you can move around but no matter what, you cannot leave this room, understand me?”

Tony nodded. 

“Good.” He pulled his spider suit out of his actual backpack that lay carelessly in the corner of the room. “Thank god for repetition,” Peter said to himself, pulling it on hastily over his clothes; only stopping to take his shirt off and throw it lazily into the corner with his bag.

“Stay here,” he said one last time before jumping back out the window. 

Tony took the sudden lonely and silent moment to look at the room he was trapped in. The equipment was stunning and well-kept. There were spare parts and chemicals galore. Like one of Howard's labs only better. It wasn’t until he saw the door when it really clicked. He was finally behind that glistening lab door that beckoned him closer that morning.

It felt like home on this side. And home; to Tony, was something worth fighting for. Even if the Spiderman had told him to stay in the lab. 

As the webs expanded enough for him to shimmy his way out of them, an idea popped into his head and he set off blindly to carry it out before anyone could stop him.


	6. Chapter 6

The rhino was laughing maniacally as Peter entered the fight. He had a sickening feeling that the toppled apartment building whose dust had not yet settled may be part of the reason for the giant's mood. “Spider,” Rhino called out from the rubble. “It is good to see you did not run like a coward. You are not as bad as I first thought.”

“Do I know you?” Peter asked from above. “Because you seem to have it out for me or something. Have I arrested you before? Maybe I didn’t sign your autograph book? Didn't pose for a selfie? I think I’d remember a giant Rhino man.” 

The Rhino laughed again; spitting out his words, “you are just as arrogant as I first thought; however.”

The other Avengers took advantage of the distraction and all made their moves on the colossal man. Arrows, bullets and a shield bounced off of the impenetrable armour like it was nothing. The Hulk took no time in throwing his full body weight on the monster, throwing them both into another apartment building. 

Peter knew his job wasn't to fight this goliath; it was to save his city. He waited for the opportune moment to swing in after the two larger beings moved out of the path of destruction and started searching for people. “Is anyone in here?!” He threw a large chunk of wall out of the way. 

“Help! Please,” a woman called out. 

“We’re over here!” another person yelled from farther away.

“I’m coming!” Peter allowed his spidey senses to take over in order to lead him to the trapped civilians faster. There wasn’t much left of the building that once stood where he was feverishly digging for signs of life. Peoples entire lives; everything they had ever worked for was now nothing but dust under his feet. 

His breathing got caught in his throat as repressed memories flooded back into his conscious mind. Painfully; he pushed them back down and continued his search and rescue mission. He found a few people; a mother and father with their two-year-old daughter, the elderly man that yelled ‘good morning’ at him from the windows every morning on his way to school when he stayed over at the tower, and a woman who worked at a pizza place just down the road. Peter knew many faces and people from his spider work and even more from just being an extremely friendly neighbourhood, Peter Parker. 

It made saving the city more personal. 

He ushered the injured and frightened people to a safer area hoping that they could find shelter. He didn’t have enough time to check, however. He was struck full force from behind by the Rhino. Luckily he hit at an odd angle so his horn did not make contact with his spine; instead slicing through Peters right side. Blood spattered over the pavement as Peter skidded to a halt in an opposing alleyway. The team stopped; unable to do anything but cry out for their youngest member. 

Rhino was in higher spirits. He let out a malicious laugh at what he had done as he wiped Peters blood from his face. “One down,” his harsh voice rumbled. “Seven to go.” 

Dr. Strange was quick to Peters side; his doctor instincts kicking in. 

“I-I’m fine.” 

“Stay down. We have to take you back to the medbay.” 

“No, I can fight.” Peter jumped to his feet; wobbling heavily as his vision spun. “Just need a minute.”

“Absolutely not!” 

“I’m fine Doc! I fought my girlfriends' dad on a plane after getting crushed by a building. And the plane crashed by the way! And I fought Thanos! I’m not out of this fight yet!”

Dr. Strange had no time to time to protest before Peter had webbed himself a butterfly closure bandage; pulling the wound together, and then jumped into the air on his spider silk. Dr. Strange had no choice but to dive back into the fray; keeping his eyes on Peter the entire time. 

Now that his attention was fully focused on the Rhino, Peter was able to formulate a plan. He threw webs at him from all angles, ignoring the burning pain in his side. He threw himself from building to building trying to get the upper hand. It wasn’t going well. Even with all of the others bombarding him with a concentrated attack, there seemed to be no stopping the Rhino. 

Peter changed tactics. “Hey, horn head! Look over here!” As soon as Rhino looked up, he webbed his eyes, essentially blinding him.

Peter only then realized the massive flaw in his plan. This had triggered something within the Rhino. Fury they had not yet seen was unleashed in one monstrous tsunami. Having to rely on his hearing in a busy battleground centred in a large city just made for more targets. He ran full speed in any direction until he made contact with something. 

Dr. Strange tried to keep up shields large enough as well as strong enough to stop the rampage but it was getting to be too much. He was running on empty and his abilities were limited. The others were similarly exhausted. The longer the battle raged, the more blood Peter lost and the wearier he became. 

Suddenly his spidey sense warned of something else. Not a threat. The same thing he felt when a civilian was in danger. He looked around for one; sure that they had all evacuated by that point. Even the police, whose sirens wailed in the distance, were no closer than four streets away in fear of their safety. 

That's when he saw him. A speck of blue in the mud. Little Tony Stark running towards them; unnoticed by all but Spiderman. “Cap!” Peter cried out desperately for someone closer to the ground to hear. No reply came from the soldier or any of the others. 

Tony kept running; screaming for anyone to hear, “I made something!” The remark fell on mostly deaf ears. Only two noticed the call. Peter and Rhino.

While the giant turned to find the sounds origin; Peter dove from the highrise. “Get out of here!”

“I made something to help!”

Rhino lined up his attack. 

“No, you- there’s no time. Karen, web grenade now!” 

With all his strength, he threw it at the ground just in front of the Rhino who was stampeding towards the young child. The grenade exploded just as he was about to step over it; engulfing him in a net of thick webbing. It wasn’t going to hold for long. He fired off the rest of the webbing left in his wrist shooters as well as, as many gadgets that still had refills. The cocoon of spider silk was wriggling with life as Rhino tore through it from the inside.

“Mr. Spiderman! Use this!” 

A small vial of green liquid was thrown at him as he ran towards Tony. “What is this?”

“Just throw it!”

Very little hope was left in the heroes as Rhino slashed through the webbing with his horn; freeing his head. With no more options left, Peter threw the vial. It’s contents spilled out over the webs once it made contact and the glass shattered. 

For a moment, nothing happened. Rhino kept ripping away layers of his prison. Then the webbing started to contract and tearing it became more difficult. It wrapped Rhino tighter and tighter until all he could do was let out exasperated grunts. 

“What did you do?” Peter asked, picking Tony up in his arms. 

“The opposite of what that other stuff did. Instead of expanding and get thinner and dissolve, why not make it stronger and tighter? Cool, huh?” 

He had to laugh. That was the Tony he always knew, shining a bright and knowing smile back at him. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Good job, Tony. I’m very proud of you.” The suits eye shutters narrowed as they fixated on the child; still dressed in Captain America PJ’s. “I’m proud of you but you are in SO much trouble young man! You wait until we get back to the tower!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dad Peter is coming out now ya'll.


	7. Chapter 7

“I can’t believe you would do that! I told you to stay in the lab and you purposely disobeyed me! You could have gotten hurt! Or worse!” Peter was practically hyperventilating as he paced back and forth in front of Tony who sat silently on the couch. 

Bruce was trying to get him to sit down so he could patch up his still bleeding side but Peter was having none of it. “We didn’t even know who the Rhino was, so what if we couldn’t stop him? You could have died! What if Your serum didn’t work? Oh my god, I think I’m having a heart attack.”

Tony whimpered from his place on the couch, “I-I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.”

Bruce once again placed a gentle hand on Peters' shoulder to try to calm him down. “You need to let it go right now, Peter. You need to settle down. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“No I can’t just sit down,” he huffed, shooing Bruce's hand away. “This must be what it feels like when I do stupid, life-threatening things in front of you guys.” 

“I’m really sorry.” There were tears running freely down Tony’s face now. “I didn’t want to make you mad. I just wanted to be like you.” 

Peters tirade stopped. “Tony,” he stifled his own sob. “You wanted to what?” 

“I wanted to be like you. You put yourself in danger to help people. I want to save people too. I’m sorry.” His tiny body was shaking as more violent cries escaped his lips. Peter stepped forward and Tony flinched, only making the sobbing worse and more forceful. “P-Please don't hit me.” 

His heart sank. “Tony,” was all he could say as he sank to his knees in front of the boy. “I would never, ever hit you. Why would you think I would?” 

“D-Dad does when h-he’s mad at me.” 

Peters' heart sank further. “He does?” 

Tony nodded. 

“I’m sorry, Tony. I didn't know. I would never hit you. I would never ever hurt you in any way. Can,” he stuttered. “Can I hug you?” Tony nodded again; falling into Peters open arms. 

Peter wrapped him up tightly; like he was never going to let go. Both sobbing uncontrollably into each other's shoulders. Each offering their own apologies over and over again; tossing the baton back and forth. 

“Tony I’m so sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have yelled. I should have never raised my voice to you. That wasn’t fair. Can you ever forgive me?” 

He nodded into Peters' chest with a soft sniffle.

“I’ll never do it again. None of this was your fault. This was my fault, Tony. Thank you for forgiving me. You did so good, you know that?” He moved back on his legs so that Tony wasn’t pressed against his chest anymore and tenderly took Tony’s tiny, tear-stained face in his hands; wiping the tears away with his thumbs. “You did so well. You were so brave and so smart. We only stopped him because of you, you know that right?”

“Really?”

“Yes. You saved us all. How can we thank you?”

Tony thought for a moment before letting a soft smile form on his lips. “Can we have ice cream for dinner?” 

“Yes! Yes, of course, we can. Let’s go now.”

Someone cleared their throat behind him and Peter suddenly remembered that Bruce had been there the whole time. Peter rose to his feet, turning to look at him with an almost guilty expression. “Right. Tony we can go right after Dr. Banner helps me. Why don't you go grab my backpack from the lab while you wait? Can you do that for me?”

“Okay! I’ll be right back!”

“Take your time and be careful, okay?”

“I will.”

Tony ran out of the room with a spring in his step. 

Bruce motioned for Peter to lie on the table he already had prepped with all of his equipment. Peter complied and Bruce got to work quickly. “You’ve lost a lot of blood Peter. You should have let me deal with this a long time ago.” 

“His dad,” he swallowed dryly. “His dad hit him, Bruce. How could he?” 

Bruce sighed, “I don't know Peter. Unfortunately, a lot of people were like that back then.” 

“And I yelled at him. What kind of horrible person yells at a child? How could anyone treat him like that?”

“I don’t-”

“He’s so small and helpless and I hurt him. I was just so scared I would lose him, that I couldn’t protect him, but I guess I never could have even if I tried. And now what? I’m buying his affection with frozen treats. I’m the worst!”

Bruce had to stop mud-stitch to roll his chair over so he was face to face with Peter. “You’re not a bad person, kid. Tony loves you and you getting overwhelmed because of a dangerous and life-threatening situation is not going to change that. You were scared and needed him to know that what he did was wrong, even if his intentions were good. There’s always a better way to handle a situation,and there’s a lot of time for improvement. This might have even been a good thing.”

“How?”

“Now you know his perspective. He tries not to yell at you, or nag you when you do things that are; sorry to say, stupid, but there’s always a boiling point. He wants to keep you safe all the time just as much as you want to keep him safe right now. He’s scared of you getting hurt or worse. So at least now you understand why sometimes it’s too much; too scary even.”

Peter nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. He’s right. I guess I never saw it from his perspective before. Thanks Mr. Banner.”

“Anytime. Now please sit still and let me work so I don’t have to yell at you for him.”

Peter laughed, “fine but make it quick. I promised a child I’d take him out for ice cream and I’m sure he’s getting antsy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dudes and dudettes did you see Endgame?! My life is OVER!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr here! [https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spidersonandfriendsfics](url)


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